Three Southeast Asian countries are on Japanese department store operator’s radar.

Takashimaya says it is evaluating opportunities to open department stores in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

However, in an interview reported by Jiji Press, Takashimaya’s president Yoshio Murata said while new stores in those markets could be an option, the company’s priority now is to focus on “raising the profitability of the four stores” it already has in Southeast Asia and China.

Takashimaya opened a store in the IconSiam development in Bangkok late last year, adding to stores it already had in Shanghai, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City.

In May last year, it was reported by Inside Retail Asia that just one of its overseas stores was then trading at a profit – the Singapore flagship on Orchard Road. But the company said it believed it could make them all profitable by 2023, including the Bangkok one.

This week, Murata said the company plans to strengthen its overseas operations and sees opportunity for growth in Southeast Asia, in particular.

Additional locations “are entirely possible” he said, so long as there were good locations available.

The company is facing problems in its home market where an ageing population and declining birth rate are making business growth a challenge.